Another Economic Argument for Physical Therapy First
I just completed reading yet another research article to be published in Spine (accepted May 18, 2012) that examined the economic consequences of early physical therapy management for treating low back...
View ArticleGetting from A to Z in Healthcare
This recent article in the New York Times highlights the overuse of narcotics/opioids in the treatment of workplace injuries, never mind the overwhelming evidence for their lack of effectiveness. The...
View ArticlePhysical Therapy Business Aliance (PTBA) Position on Alternative Payment...
This post is the official position of PTBA to the Alternative Payment System draft that APTA has appropriately sought feedback. Full disclosure, principles of EIM are members and 2 are Board of...
View ArticleResponse to PTBA’s Statement on APS
I would like to respond to the PTBA’s position statement on APTA’s Alternative Payment System (APS). I disagree with PTBA’s statement that APTA’s APS is “inadequate to instigate the magnitude of...
View ArticleMedpac’s View of #Physicaltherapy-Time to Set the Record Straight #PTSTAT
The most horrific misrepresentation of physical therapy is watching Medpac advise Congress on how to reform payments in outpatient therapy. On Oct 5th, 2012, Adaeze Akamigbo and Ariel Winter...
View ArticleEMRs and the Physical Therapy Industry
Although there may be some debate about the extent to which ACOs become the norm in health care depending on the upcoming election, one thing that is here to stay regardless of the Presidential...
View ArticleNo Matter Where You Live…The Song Remains the Same
Well despite the claims from my Australian Physio colleagues that often claim that they are different down under it appears that when it comes to spinal fusion surgery the song remains the same. In a...
View ArticleSave Medicare- Stop Fusions & Re-hospitalizations
How many PTs can you hire for the cost of the hospital charges of one spinal fusion? The recent studies published ahead of print in Spine have made me ill. First the trends for complex spinal...
View ArticlePareto Principle and Physical Therapy
The Pareto Principle... we all know it, although we may not be familiar with the term. I’ve ignored the Pareto Principle for years in my triathlon training. I spend more time in the pool working on my...
View ArticleKickbacks in Spine Surgical Industry Continue
The Wall Street Journalreported on Tuesday about a special fraud alert issued by the inspector general for the Health and Human Services Department. The alert focused on physician-owned...
View ArticlePhysical Therapists And Direct Access
I saw it. I glanced down and it was still there. I inwardly groaned. Okay, the patient checked the box. Tactfulness required. How many of you incorporate a systems review process during the patient’s...
View ArticleEmbrace Uncertainty in Healthcare…It’s Here to Stay
This post is worth reading over a cup of coffee (or whatever your favorite beverage) and then contemplating what this means for your clinical practice. This particular quote sums it up well: “The only...
View ArticleA transition towards recognizing “phony medicine”
Whether referring to our handling of the attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, NSA surveillance programs, IRS targeting of conservative groups, or DoJ’s seizing of media phone records, we have heard...
View ArticleFuture Payment Model and Quality of Care
As “they” keep saying and saying, the fee for service model will be obsolete in the future. Truly, it does need to change. Lately it’s been feeling like a “how low will you go?” kind of game.The...
View ArticlePayer Role in Quality of Care
Whoa! Take a moment and think about which payer has the greatest quality reporting initiative ever. Hint, hint… think 4 letters of the alphabet PQRS… think of at least 318 measures that can be...
View ArticleNurse Practitioners Continue to Set the Example
This recent blog post by the esteemed economist Ewe Reinhardt provides a terrific overview of the strategy that nurse practitioners are employing state-by-state to establish themselves as primary care...
View Article21st Century #Physicaltherapy Curriculum
As Thanksgiving approaches, I wanted to practice a version of the gratitude letter by expressing my thanks to many of you for your activism and support over the past few weeks. Thanks to all of you who...
View ArticleClaims Based Data Research
You are reading correctly: claims and research. This can be done… it IS being done. Before any of the EIM Team jump down my throat, I’m using outdated terms. The appropriate terminology in the current...
View ArticleWhat Differentiates #PhysicalTherapy?
Our last post on TDN not being physical therapy has generated substantive discussion. In my many years as a PT, I have seldom seen so many PT’s rush for CE on TDN, fight for legislative rights to...
View ArticleWhat Medicare #physicaltherapy Data Doesn’t Tell You
For about the past week, there has been a lot of reporting regarding the CMS release of medicare payments to providers in 2012. In an early responsive move, AMA provided a release entitled 9 ways CMS’...
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